Robotic Car

The Stanford Racing Team's autonomous robotic car, Stanley, won first prize in a contest sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The artificially intelligent car traversed a 132-mile, off-road course in a little less than seven hours.

Credit: CBS/Tim Houlihan

The modified Volkswagen Touareg beat 23 other vehicles to win the $2 million prize. Only four managed to finish the course.

Credit: CBS/Tim Houlihan

Correspondent John Blackstone, right, talks with Sebastian Thrun, the director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab. "The key thing that makes it drive itself (is) its sensors on the top," says Thrun.

Credit: CBS/Tim Houlihan

The camera, lasers and GPS equipment feed information to a couple of laptop computers in the trunk. Within about 25 years Thrun figures most cars will drive themselves.

Credit: CBS/Tim Houlihan

Thrun lets Stanley do the driving while he answers Blackstone's questions about the technology driving the robotic vehicle.

Credit: CBS/Tim Houlihan

The next step toward that future will come in October 2007 when Thrun intends to have a robot car drive itself from San Francisco to Los Angeles.